Sunday, September 14, 2008

It sounds like a lot of hassle to drag yourself outta bed early morning and stand in the line for few hours, only to be hustled into a stuffy room full of people pushing and grabbing things off the table (or each other). Is it me or shopping is just much less fun like that?

But I have heard of the crazy prices, and I'm always seething with jealousy when I see/read about others' bargain hauls. So when I heard about the rather quiet and unadvertised Chanel warehouse sale, I jumped up in excitement.

Then I saw the scar on my face and was brought back to earth. Maybe it's best if I lay low until I don't have to walk around with dressings on my face huh? :/

Then again, it's Chanel!

Being my usual fickle minded self, I spent the whole night contemplating whether or not to go to the sale and only went to bed at 7am this morning.

The sweet hubby stayed up to wake me at 9.30am though. I guess he didn't want me to spend the next week or so whinging to him about not going to the sale.

Another round of to-go-or-not-to-go later, we arrived at the sale just after 10.30am.

It was a small room, with a small crowd. Totally different from the bloodshed battlefield at other warehouse sales that I had heard about.

There was a decent collection of makeup, skincare and perfume by Chanel. Nothing to go crazy about, lots of discontinued lines and limited edition colours from previous seasons. There were definitely some gems hidden within, but I was too beat to look through everything on the table.

I took a quick glance at the makeups and realised that most of the good stuff was gone. I'd assume they were snapped up either by the crowd on day one or those early birds today.

The sales assistants were pretty helpful, which is another rare thing at these clearance sales. They were even helping some customers to find a shade of foundation that matches their skintone.

I was in no mood to try out products though.

(a) I only had 3 hours of sleep.

(b) Bee was bored and dozing off from the lack of sleep.

(c) I was dozing off myself.

(d) It was a small crowd, but still a crowd nonetheless.

So I quickly grabbed a few things and took them to the cashier. No gal walks in and out of a Chanel sale empty handed, right?

(And now I regret not buying more. *Sighs*)

My take on warehouse sales?

Well, I still prefer walking into the actual boutiques and enjoy the customer service while browsing through the full range of products at my own pace. But warehouse sales are great if you know how or want to score a good bargain.

Molly: That's why I steered clear of the foundations and skincare. I myself have eyeshadows dated a few years back in my makeup case, so I'm not too fussed about those. Lip glosses wise, they were just too cute (and cheap) to resist! :)

Prettybeautiful: You should definitely check it out, at least once, and see how you feel about it. These sales don't always have the greatest selections, but the prices are ridiculously cheap. I'd go to one that doesn't require lining up and squeezing through a huge crowd though, that really puts me off. :D

Che-Cheh: This one was really quiet and "civilised". The sale wasn't advertised at all, so there was only a small crowd. It was just like an extra busy day at a makeup counter in department stores. :)

Emotionalistic: Make him. *Winks*

Bengbeng: I was too sleepy to be tempted, but now I'm kicking myself for not buying more. Hehe. Yeah, he was really nice and helpful too. I think the JPN staff took my confidence in our government departments to a new height. :D

My Secret Garden

Behind the old rusty door, a flight of stone stairs leads up to the walking path with little pebbles. Welcome to my secret garden, where the water is calm and the air is crisp. On one of those mild autumn afternoons with clear blue sky and light breezes, let's lay out white linen tablecloth under my favourite Golden Elm tree and serve freshly baked scones with Earl Grey tea.